


A Boy and a Dragon

by Royalrastafariannaynays



Series: In Name and In Deed [3]
Category: Homestuck
Genre: Baby Dragon, Body Horror, Dragons, Gen, Magic, POV Dave Strider, Side Story, classspects as magic types, dave strider is a wee babu, sidefic for in name and in deed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-10
Updated: 2016-07-10
Packaged: 2018-07-22 19:05:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,138
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7450591
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Royalrastafariannaynays/pseuds/Royalrastafariannaynays
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Your name is Dave. You're six. And your siblings aren't nice sometimes. That's okay, but sometimes it hurts, and all of your friends are better at their magic than you.</p>
<p>OR: </p>
<p>How Dave, local six-year-old rebel, met the dragon Aradia and her family. And made a very bad decision.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Boy and a Dragon

**Author's Note:**

> hi! this is a side fic for my main fantasy AU, In Name and In Deed! If you haven't read the main one, this one might not make as much sense! (and this would be a wonderful opportunity for you to read it!!! *WONK*)

It’s cold. 

You ran away from home again and you regret it a lot. You can’t get very far. Mommy will come and get you, and then Rose and Dirk will laugh at you. And then you won’t be allowed to have dessert, and Rose will laugh at you some more. They don’t laugh much but when they do it usually hurts. 

And it’s cold. You pull your hood closer around your ears. 

Rose said something earlier about thinking that it was gonna get real cold today. Like colder than snow usually is. She said that someone was gonna get lost in it, and they would get sick. Mommy didn’t know who, because she didn’t see it, but she believes Rose. So the whole village is watching out.

Everyone always believes Rose. They don’t believe you, though. Even though you never lie. You told Mommy yesterday that the ground outside the farm house down the road looked like it had familiar footprints in it. And it did! Instead of listening, though, she just told you that you shouldn’t be spending time around that old farmhouse. She tries to tell you a lot that it’s okay that you don’t have magic like Dirk and Roxy and Rose. She says that you don’t have to make up stories.

It looked so familiar, though. And not in the same way that it usually looks. Because you pass it all the time. Mommy didn’t listen to you, though, so you didn’t tell her that it flickered. Because it did. And one of the sets of footprints looked like it was being followed by two holes. It kind of reminded you of how Dirk’s friend Jake’s Dad was, when his leg was broken. Holes on either side from the crutches. And one footprint. 

When you pass by the old farmhouse again, it’s deserted. No footprints. 

The path to the village is almost covered in snow. But you’re six whole years old. And you have big boots. And warm socks. And Dirk will make fun of you if you run back home all wet. Roxy’s not home right now. She had to go to school in the Sky City. John and Jade are there, too. Because their magic is more dangerous. So they got to go early. Jade said in her letter that she’s training with the Princess. The Princess!

All of your friends except you, get to go. Dirk went, a buncha years ago. That’s what Mommy says. When he came into his magic he started getting really sick. Mommy also said that. Dirk is thirteen now.

But Roxy will be back tomorrow! And you can eat cake together and tell her all about how you climbed Mommy’s tree all the way to the top. And she won’t laugh at you. She believes you when you talk about how the plants wither. And she believes you when you talk about how there are great big scorch marks on the ground in a square, right outside the farmhouse. But then when you blink, they’re gone. Roxy is the best sister. 

Dirk always frowns and says that everyone knows that the grass withers. 

Dirk makes you really mad sometimes. 

So now you’re going to town! Because you don’t want anyone to find you. 

Because Mommy went out to meet her friend and she put Dirk in charge and he and Rose can both do magic and when Mommy’s not around to tell them no, they brag. A Lot.

You’re not even that cold by the time you reach the village. Because your boots are so good! But you feel all wet all over. 

It’s a little dark out and everyone is inside. Even the shopkeepers have their doors shut. There are lights on inside but they’re not shop lights. 

The church is open, but you don’t want to go there. They frown at you because you talk too much. 

And John’s poppa can be a lil scary when John isn’t there. And he always makes you eat cake. But maybe you don’t want to eat cake today! Jade lives at John’s house ever since her grandpa died, but she’s gone anyways. 

Hmm. 

The snow is getting deeper. What about… ha! You spot a light on. Dol’sa’s house! Kan.. Kany… Kanya. Yeah. Kanya lives there! And Porrim is nice too, even though she’s older than Dirk! Porrim spends a lot of time with Roxy and they love to put tiny braids in Rose’s hair. And sometimes Kanya comes and she and Rose go play and then you get to have your hair braided! 

With a skip, you manage to effectively trip yourself, and you go crashing into the snow. Just a giant headache. The snow gets in your hood and nose and you sneeze it out. Bluh. Well now you’re cold! But Dol’sa has a window open and you can see the light from here. She always has warm soup for you. And she never sends anyone for Mommy, except when you admit that you should be in school. 

Dol’sa opens the door when you knock, and hurries you inside. 

“Well little Davey, you’re all wet!” She stand there, with her hands on her hips and a grin on her face. You sniffle. 

“Yeah Dol’sa,” you reply. “Can I have some soup please?” 

“Dolorosa, sweetheart. And yes. Of course you can,” she tells you. She helps you take off your coat and boots, and then leads you to the kitchen with a rag for your face. 

“Did you walk from home in all that?” She asks. “Your Mommy must be worried.”

Dol’sa helps to sit you up on one of the big chairs in the kitchen. A big bowl of soup is put in front of you. You don’t answer her. Dol’sa sits in front of you, and she’s frowning a little but she pats your head anyways. Kanya and Porrim come in, too, and they sit next to you and talk to their Mommy. And Dol’sa gives them soup also. 

And you sniffle some more.

 

* * *

 

After you finish your soup, Dol’sa gives you a dry coat and a warm hat, and dry socks. They’re old but that’s okay. They’re warm. Dol’sa tells Porrim and Kanya to bundle up and walk you home because the snow slowed down. 

They both accept, and Kanya throws snowballs at you that are way too big for her hands while you walk through the village. You throw some back! It’s quiet in the streets, and there isn’t much sound except for the crunching of snow beneath your feet, and Kanya's laughter. 

Something breaks the quiet, though. 

It’s the sound of hooves clopping along the ground. And bells. Tiny bells, just barely making any noise at all. And the light, strange noise of something long and metal hitting a disk. But it’s light, soft. Around the corner up ahead, comes a team of four horses steadily pulling a cart. The cart is surrounded by guards wearing nothing but black. They all have complicated symbols painted all over them.

A giant shadow crosses your path, and then another. Porrim pulls you and Kanya to the side of the road. Her palms are firm on your chest, and you look up into the sky. It’s… it’s dragons. 

You’ve never seen a dragon before. But you can tell what they are. One of them watches you with a sharp eye trained directly on yours. That one is huge, and its wings block out what little sun manages to peek through the thick clouds. Another giant shape wiggles in the sky. It has no wings. It moves like a long flag. It does not look at you. There is a twin to it, flying parallel, that also does not look at you. 

But the dragons turn, circle the cart, and patrol the air. Smoke leaks from their mouths and gusts follow their wake. Two of them have riders on their backs. 

The cart is large and square when it passes you. Porrim holds you and Kanya in the alcove of a doorway as they pass. Her hands are tense on you. Kanya looks scared. So maybe you should be scared.

And then, one of the people sitting on the front seat of the cart calls a halt. The great white horses pulling it whinny and toss their heads. _They_ are scary, you know that. 

And from inside the cart you feel something. It's a strange something, and it makes you frown. A crack in the door shows you a giant round thing. It has a lid, and is bigger than you in every direction. Bigger than Dirk in every direction. It’s covered in the same symbols.

“Dave?” 

Is that… Mommy’s voice? 

One of the people from the front of the cart jump down, and then your mother is in front of you. 

“What did I tell you about going out on your own?!” She scolds. It makes you feel bad. Her face looks so worried. 

“He came to see us, Madam. We didn’t know he was coming in such weather,” Porrim says. And her fingers relax on you. Kanya sighs next to you and maybe she’s not as scared, either. It’s just Mommy. Even if she’s mad. And she found you. That’s the good part.

“Sorry, Mommy,” you say. And she sighs, steps back, and lifts you into her arms. You wrap around her obediently, and she turns to thank the girls. You’re looking into the cart again, though. From up here, you can see the thing better. It looks kinda like a great big oven, with how it’s leaking smoke. It’s really weird. Too big to be a normal oven. What's cooking in there?

As Mommy walks away back to the front of the cart, you wave to Kan’ya. She and Porrim wave back and Mommy lifts you up into the front seat of the cart. You sit next to the cart driver, whose face is all covered ‘cept for their eyes. They’re looking at you, and you can feel them. They’re like Rose’s eyes. 

“Is this one going to be tested?” The person asks. Their hair is pulled back, and you can see a scar crossing their nose. The idea of being tested confuses you. But you just had a test yesterday! You spelled all the words right, too. 

Mommy lifts you into her lap, wraps one of her hands around your middle. 

“Perhaps. I haven’t decided yet. Davey here hasn’t shown any magic yet,” she murmurs, and kisses the top of your head. Mommy’s kisses are always the best. 

The cart starts moving again, and the guards shout some words at each other you can’t understand.

 

* * *

 

When you get to the house, Dirk is standing at the door with his arms crossed. Mommy has sent you in first, and Dirk gives you a little smack on the side of the head. Rose is standing behind him. You sneeze, and something in her eyes goes all foggy like a rainy day.

You pass by her, though, because your shoes are still wet and there’s snow in your hood. 

"It... changed," Rose muttered as you passed.

The maid in the kitchen takes your jacket and boots with a smile, and puts them to dry next to the hearth. Her hand ruffles your hair, and she holds a secretive finger to her lips as a pastry is pressed into your palm. 

Gleeful, giggling, you leave the kitchen. The sugar makes your fingers sticky, so you lick it off after shoving the whole thing into your mouth at once. 

Dirk and Rose are standing to the side. Eight of the unfamiliar guards from outside are carrying some kind of pal.. palan… seat thingy inside. They go through the front room and down the big hallway toward the room you’ve been told to never go in. You went in there once, and it was just a big circle on the ground. Big deal. 

The seat thingy has the giant oven on it. It looks really heavy. 

Dirk and Rose are staring out the door. The three dragons are there, in front of the door. One of them steps in. It’s the long one from before. The first big wiggly flag one, you can tell. Something about its eyes tells you that it’s a girl, and you’re not sure why. It’s more like someone tells you. But that’s not right, because no one spoke at all. 

Her eyes pierce you. They’re solid black, like her claws and horns. She’s covered in golden scales, and they glitter really bright in the light from the chandelier. A small cloud of fire bursts from between her lips.

“So pretty,” you say, and it’s hard to keep yourself from moving, so you walk up to her. She snorts in your face and it smells funny. Dirk’s hand pulls you back before you can touch her snout, and he says an apology to the dragon. There’s person in your head, or at least it feels like it. The person is looking at your thoughts. It’s weird. But Mommy has done it to you, too. 

The dragon looks at Dirk, then, and then Rose. And then back to you. Her rider comes over and places her hand on her nose, and her eyes flicker back to the oven as it moves away. 

The person leaves you, but not without a parting word. _You are quite lovely as well, hatchling._

She follows the guard men into that room, slipping easily through the doors as they’re opened for her. Her rider gives you a long look, and you step behind Dirk. Dirk stares at the rider. But you’re sure it’s in awe, not defense of you. 

Rose pulls on your sleeve. 

“She _is_ pretty,” she confesses to you. And yeah. You’re right.

 

* * *

 

Later that night, after bedtime, Mommy brings you, and Dirk, and Rose into that room she said never to go into. The oven is there, on the floor. The gold dragon is curled around it, chin resting on top like she's bored in school. Her horns are long from here, and stretch over her back like tree branches. She opens one eye to look at the three of you. 

Lazy, like a snake, she crawls over to you and Rose and Dirk. 

Instead of looking just at you, this time, she keeps her eyes on Dirk. The person that was driving the cart earlier says something you can’t understand, and the dragon blinks and moves back to the big oven. Mommy’s voice is a little shaky as she talks to the person from the cart. The gold dragon’s rider is reclined on a pile of pillows nearby the big oven, and has their hat tilted down. Are they asleep? The other gold dragon, the one from the town, is curled up next to her.

“Dirk, follow her up,” Mommy says. And Dirk does. He seems a little scared, so you give him a pat on the arm as encouragement. He smiles a little at you, and then walks forward. The dragon, _the mother_ someone tells you – and there’s that person again in your head! – draws back behind the oven, and lifts the lid off of it with her two front feet. Hands, maybe? They look like hands. 

Dirk’s face is lit up as he looks inside. What’s in there? Whatever it is, it pumps enough heat out to make him cover his eyes before it subsides. Sparks fly out of the pot, and the gold dragon makes a small chirring noise in her throat. 

And… nothing happens. 

There’s a scuffle from the side of the room, though, and suddenly the slightly smaller ribbon dragon is climbing up onto the platform and straight to Dirk. The one who you know as _mother_ growls, and snaps at the other ( _child,_ something informs you). The one that came up to Dirk dodges the snap, and curves herself around to Dirk’s other side. Dirk is scared, and shivers as the _child_ dragon sniffs at his shirt and breathes on his front. 

_Mother_ dragon stops growling, and backs up. The _child_ moves her round, ram-like horns to butt up on Dirk’s side, and he stumbles. Dirk is so small compared to her. She could fit him in her mouth, even if he _is_ thirteen. 

_Damara,_ a deep voice tells you. And the _child_ who is now Damara turns her head to look at you. Everything in the room is still as she leaves Dirk to walk down the platform and right up to you. She seems so much bigger up close. You can feel another person in your head, now. Alongside the first. The new one examines you. Somehow you know that it’s the dragon in front of you. Her eyes are pitch and glistening, and her tongue is icy as she licks your hand.

But her mind is rougher, more cruel. More pained, more mature. Her mind is so many things when you touch it. And she reels back. A notion of _too similar, too bright_ filters into you, and a wall shuts down over your thoughts. 

And she walks back over to Dirk. 

For some reason, you’re disappointed. There is a soothing in your mind, and when you look at _mother_ she is gazing thoughtfully at you. _There is power in you,_ she says. And you know it’s her, now. _It is similar to us. But Damara desires a darkness to commune with, not a light._ The words relax you. For whatever reason. You’re suddenly very sleepy. 

“Has she chosen him?” Mommy says from across the room. 

_Yes,_ comes a small voice, a deeper voice than mother. _I am Damara._

The person who Mommy was talking to says some more to her, and Mommy replies the same way. Is it a different language? Why isn’t the dragon speaking the same one? Why aren’t either of them? 

Dragons speak without talking, you know that now. Do they see the thoughts of people like you and Mommy when you talk? That must be it. 

_Mother_ yawns, then. The rider next to her is sitting up, tilting their hat just a little bit. And they nod. 

“May we test another?” Mommy asks. The dragon _mother_ nods her great head, and pulls back. 

You’re excited, because you and Rose are twins but you were born first. So that means you get to go up next, right? 

_Damara_ is already curling back up on the floor, and Dirk is returning to your side. He keeps staring at his hands, like they’ll tell him all the secrets. 

Mommy picks Rose. And Rose walks up. The _mother_ opens her eyes on Rose, and chirrs again into the pot. Nothing happens. Mommy sighs, and Rose turns around. 

And then it’s your turn, right? 

But Mommy says something to the person from the cart, and the person from the cart nods. Mommy puts her hand on your shoulder to turn you around, and Rose, and says a farewell to the dragons. Even though you’re disappointed that you didn’t get to see inside the pot, you wave goodbye anyway. 

You’re almost out the door when –

_Test the boy._

Mommy stops still. She turns around. “He doesn’t have any magic. He would fail on a fault,” she says. 

_He indeed has magic. It is like mine. And most of my children’s._

Mommy takes in a breath. It’s surprised. She looks down at you, a mix of shock and guilt on her face. Like she didn’t know. Like she should have believed you. And she should have! But it’s okay. She’s Mommy, and you love her no matter what. 

Without talking, she turns you back around, and gives you a gentle shove toward the great big oven. 

It’s scarier than you thought walking up there. But _mother_ soothes you, and _Damara_ watches you, and you keep walking. Even though you’re alone. Even when the step is a little too high. Even when _mother_ tells you to step up into her claw to look inside the oven. 

Inside is amazing. There are three huge eggs there. They’re all round, smooth, but covered in a pattern of interlocking and netted scales, and surrounded by steadily burning embers and coals. The lines on the scales glow with different colors. There’s a red, a green, and a blue egg. _Mother_ makes that noise again. Up close, it sounds like Roxy’s cat, but mixed with the grinding of wheels on cobblestone. It’s so comforting that you almost don’t notice when the red egg begins to shake. The chirring stops shortly, and _mother_ takes you around the waist with her other claw. 

You’re jerked away from the big oven as a squealing noise fills the air. It rises quickly in pitch, and _mother_ holds you behind her as the egg explodes into flame. The fire nearly licks at the ceiling with its height before it subsides, and the smallest dragon you could ever imagine pops her head over the lip of the container. _Mother_ turns back to the baby, cooing and crooning and placing you gently on the ground. 

The baby opens its mouth, and _mother_ breathes a small stream of flame into her mouth. The baby coughs, makes some high-pitched noises, and swallows the flame. It ignites something within her, because she burps out a flame of her own mere minutes later.

Mommy gasps from across the room, and when you look to her, you catch the astonished eyes of _mother’s_ rider. They’re wide, and they definitely don’t look asleep. 

The rider quickly calms, though. And she sinks back into the pile of pillows. 

_Mother_ reaches her mouth into the great hot pot, and lifts the baby out. The baby dragon has eyes only for you. They’re black, like the others. And when _she, my dear child_ looks at you, her mouth is wide. Her head only comes up to your knee, but she latches onto your pants and climbs. 

_She cannot speak to you, yet,_ the mother dragon says, as the baby winds herself around your pant leg and then your torso. She comes to rest on your shoulders, heavy and hot from the coals. _But she feels very close to you._

_It will be a few years before she is ready to bond before hurting the boy,_ the _mother_ dragon continues, to the room at whole. Her claws are firm as she slides the lid back onto the great oven. _I will stay, to teach her here, for a few months, until she can speak._

Dirk, over at the door, is blank-faced. You wave at him, and he doesn't wave back. 

The baby dragon rubs her face against the side of yours. And she purrs. 

_She has decided that her name is Aradia,_ the _mother_ says to you. _And she has waited forty years for you to come along._

 

* * *

 

The person from the cart and the two riders stay for the next few months. 

Dirk’s training starts right away. The riders teach him, where they are staying in that house on the cliff. You can’t get there without riding unless you’re a good climber or you know the secret passage, so you’re a little jealous. 

When she has spare time, the _mother_ comes back, and brings Aradia with her. She and Aradia sit with you, and you play with the baby. Rose is a little jealous, but you play with her, too. Aradia likes how Rose smells, and likes how warm it is to curl up between you on the floor when you look at the clouds in the sunroom. 

Within two months of the arrival of the dragons, there’s a big party for Dirk. There’s also a ceremony at the Chapel of the Light in the big hall. They moved the fountain to put out the magic circle. Aradia’s started talking to you a little, so she asks you if she can sit on your shoulders for it. She’s already gotten bigger, but she’s not too heavy yet. The other members of the village look at you a little funny as you walk in with the little ruby dragon clinging to your jacket, but you don’t care. She’s your friend now. And friends get to sit with you. 

At the ceremony, Dirk cries, and he’s given a cool necklace and a long scarf thing. His arms look like they have a bunch of old scratches on them, and he has to cut his hand and drop some of it in Damara’s mouth. Damara bleeds too, and he has to swallow it, and it’s really gross. But they said he has to do that because of his magic. Because his soul doesn’t like leaving. Whatever that means. 

Dol’sa is sitting next to you cause Mommy’s at the front. She says something about how Dirk has been bleeding for this for probably a week now. She knows cause she sees him go to the healers a lot for blood refurbinment? Or something. 

After Dirk cries, he looks really tired. Mommy and the _mother_ and her rider take him and Damara back to the house. You follow behind. The party is over, suddenly, and you’re just walking behind them. Rose walks with you. She also looks a little confused, so you don’t feel as bad about it.

At the house, Dirk and Damara curl up in his bed, and they go straight to sleep. Curled up like that, together. 

Later, Mommy tells you about the bond. She says that Dirk completed the first part of his training, and that he’s a rider now. 

“A Rider?!” you exclaim, and she pulls you up onto her lap. “How? Dirk’s only thirteen!”

“The training starts young, Dave. Aradia chose you to be her rider, too,” she says. “They found out that you have magic like theirs.”

You bounce up and down, agitated. Aradia left earlier with her mom, so you can’t tell her the good news yet. But… Dirk was crying. You don’t want to cry. And then if Dirk is a rider, he’ll have another thing to brag about over you. He’s already got better magic, after all. 

“Don’t look so sad, sweetheart. We need to help you see if we can control your magic before you bind to Aradia. Her mother is working very hard to help her with hers, too, even though she had a lot of time in the egg to figure it out,” Mommy says. 

And you sigh. “Will I cry like Dirk?” You ask her. You don’t want to cry in front of everyone. 

Mommy laughs. “Maybe so, Dave.” And she pinches your cheeks. It makes you giggle a lot, so she tickles you a lot to make you giggle more. 

“Alright, now it’s bedtime,” she says once you’ve stopped laughing. And you nod. Dirk will be a rider, but you’ll be one soon, too. Just a couple years. Just you wait, Dirk.

 

* * *

 

It’s been two months, and Dirk has already bragged a lot. It’s annoying. And it hurts your feelings. 

You’ve been spending a lot of time at Dol’sa’s house. She lets you eat with the other kids an’ wash dishes when you’re done. Even though you don’t like doing servant work she says that everyone does chores ‘round here. It’s also okay because when you’re doing chores, you’re not at home. 

Rose told you that Aradia and you aren’t gonna be good riders like Dirk, when you accidentally stepped on her dolly. But Aradia is already big enough to come up to your hip. And she’s more than eight feet long! You’ll be able to start training soon, surely. 

_You shouldn’t listen to them! They’re just umm. What’s the word?_

“Better?”

_No, it starts with a J sound._

“Jealous?”

_Yeah, that._

Aradia is curled aaaaallllll around you. It’s warmer outside now, but it’s still spring and a lil cold. And she’s still warm, and you’re laying in the sun. The first spring flowers are popping up. They smell real good. 

_Where is Rose today?_ Aradia asks. Her body shifts under your knee, and you move your head a little so it won’t be laying on top of her fur. Aradia rolls to her side. 

Man, how excited John n Jade are gonna be when they come back and you have a new dragon friend! Cause Aradia’s your best friend right now, but when they get back you can all be friends together. And you’re gonna be a rider! Jade is gonna be so jealous! 

“Rose is takin’ a nap. Mommy said that she had a really scary vision, and she couldn’t really talk much. Cause it was so scary, and it hurt. But she was scared for someone close t’ her. So Mommy and your mother are watching Dirk’s practice extra hard to make sure nothin’ bad happens.”

_Oh!_ Aradia says. And she starts purring some more. _I like spending time with just you anyway. Rose is so mean to you sometimes._

It makes you smile. 

“That’s okay. Mommy told me she’s just upset cause one of the dragons wanted me and not her. And she gets upset cause of her visions. And she feels bad cause they all thought I was lying the whole time.”

_About what?_

“I see when something is old or new instead of when it is now. Like flowers and stuff.”

_Oh yeah. That._

“Yeah. They didn’t believe me for a long time. But now they do. And soon they’ll believe me forever. Cause we’re gonna get bonded and be best friends for life,” you say, and punch the air. Like Dirk does when he wins a game. Dirk will always be cooler than you.

“I jus’ wish time would speed up ‘cause I dowanna wait, but Mommy says we gotta,” you sigh, and fall back onto Aradia’s belly. The part of her that makes fire is so warm against your cheek. 

_I bet we could do it right now and it would be fine. Mommy and_ mother _are just being scared cats._

The words make you feel very quiet. But they also make you excited. What if you could? What if Dirk wasn’t the only rider? You’ve been working with Mommy on your powers with some advice she got from _mother_. And you’re probably ready. The ground has stopped changing sometimes, and you even were able to see the beginning of something yesterday instead of the end. That butterfly was a lot prettier with wings than lots of tiny legs. 

Rose wouldn’t doubt you anymore. And you wouldn’t ever have to run away again because there would be nothing to tease you about. And Aradia could be cool too. She says Damara calls her a fool a lot. It’s not nice even if she says it’s okay. 

“How?” you ask, very softly. Maybe she won’t hear you. “I don’t wanna cry.”

Aradia goes still. She knows. And she heard you. 

_We need a safe place, she says. And we need some of each of us for each other. And a couple other things. Like candles and salt. And…_

“What?”

_Well I don’t know if this is a good idea,_ she says. 

Slapping her side lightly, you exclaim, “No it’s fine! You said it we can do it sooner! Don’t you wanna be as good as Damara?”

Some kind of vindictive happiness goes through Aradia’s connection to you. It fills you with a wave of excitement and that rush makes you unwind yourself from her and jump up. “C’mon, we can go to the Chapel! They put the circle in the basement so I know where it is!” 

Aradia bursts out, and the two of you practically run to the town.

 

* * *

 

There were still supplies left there from Dirk’s ceremony. There was tea and candles and salt. And the symbol was still there! It was too convenient. 

_Now feel where I’m talking to you,_ Aradia says. Instead of standing around you, like she normally does, she’s standing in front of you. The scales on her face flicker in the candlelight, and she lets smoke roll out of her mouth. The ground under your feet is glowing, too. Moving, shifting, the hall is vibrating around you. It’s so awesome!

And your hands are tingling. Everything on you feels like it’s full of magic. Aradia’s fur flashes white-gold for a minute, like your hair. Her claws seem to morph strangely, and her teeth are blunt and white. You taste blood in your mouth, and suddenly your jaw feels too big, your teeth are too sharp, and your tongue is too long.

This isn’t anything like Dirk said.

You feel Aradia there, in your head. Her voice is happy and calming and there’s a feeling of same that comes with it. You reach out to it. Like a cat, it smells your soul, feels it out. Watches it. 

And then – it connects. Her voice, no, her _self._ It touches yours. 

You’re on your knees in minutes. It feels… it feels so… it feels so _good._

Aradia’s breath is in your mouth, her fire is in your belly, and you blow, _hard._ Fire spills from your lips, and it doesn’t hurt. It pours in a waterfall from your tongue and it’s so… It’s so powerful. The power recedes a little, draws away from you like it’s scared. You try to comfort it, to pull it back. 

**It’s okay,** you sing to it.

_Dave. This is too much, I can’t control it._ Aradia sounds worried. And through her eyes, you look up at yourself. You see a boy, a baby, a man, an old man with a scar on his leg, a man holding hands with his loved one and stuffed with time and space and home. You see a man terrified for the life of another, you see fire. Looking around, you see everything. Everything in time is moving at breakneck speed all at once. Looking back at yourself, you see black eyes and huge black teeth. 

It’s _wrong._

There’s a loud crash. Something bursts into the room, and you watch yourself look over at the door. 

You see those black teeth open wide in a smile. The skin is cracked and flaking, the eyes are so pitch dark it’s like they hold the nighttime itself in them. The lips are split and spilling blood, and the boy lifts a hand to wave. It’s you. But why are you doing that?

When you look over at the door, you see… Roxy? No, it’s Rose. No, it’s Mommy. But how can Mommy be a baby, too? And she looks so scared. Her eyes are wide, hands shaking. Her mouth is moving but you can’t hear it, and you only breathe smoke when you try to talk. 

You snap back into your own body. You’re staring at Mommy. You put your hand down. 

The fire in you starts to feel bad. The fire melts at you, burns your spit to ash. 

Mommy looks so scared. _Mother_ is behind her, and frozen still. Her rider looks scared, too. Why? 

You’re on your knees, and then you’re on the floor. 

Oh, the fire. It hurts so much. The agony of it, the pain. There is screaming in your head, then. Aradia drools molten liquid from the corners of her mouth. Reaching out to her, you try to pat her nose. But you’re too weak. Everything is so wrong. 

You regain your voice, but all you can do is scream. Your eyes get salt in them from the ground, your tongue tastes the ash on the sigil and the blood. Fire in your veins, heat everywhere. The room is mostly dark, now, but you still feel like you’re standing on the sun. 

Rose is there, next to Mommy. Her eyes are bright white, and she’s screaming, too. 

And then one pain stands out from the rest. On your neck, you feel a ripping, a pulling that centers everything else. It brings it all together, bundles it up. You can hear the whooshing again, you can hear the wind in your ears, roaring. But then that bundle of you lights aflame, and you’re yelling again. Crying. Tears are hot on your face. But you didn’t want to cry. Dirk cries, you don’t! Blood is dripping down your neck and something is cinching tight around your body. 

Mommy is there, leaning over you. She’s still saying something. You can’t hear it. But Mommy is crying, too. You can’t turn your neck, but you see Rose fall out of the corner of your eye. 

Everything hurts. 

You reach up to touch Mommy’s face. **It’s gonna be okay don’t cry** , you tell her, through Aradia. She starts yelling at you. 

But you can’t hear her. Just, her mouth is moving really a lot and- 

Everything turns white.

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! so I got a mad urge and I wanted to write up the boys meeting their grrrlz so here they are! Hope y'all like today's chapter of the main as well!
> 
> please don't fault dirk for his 'tude, most young teenagers are confused and stressed and hormonal, and he's thirteen and the oldest sibling. so.


End file.
